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£106.99Mndalen Landscapes - Philip Sparke
The picturesque town of Mandalen lies amid snow-covered mountains and scenic fjords on the west coast of Norway. MANDALEN LANDSCAPES was commissioned by and written for Mndalen Skule og Ungdomskorps (Mandalen School and Youth Band) for a major concert in November 2003 at the instigation of its conductor, John Hudson, a long-time friend of composer Philip Sparke.Sparke set out to capture the beauty of the area in music and the piece opens with an evocation of the crisp, clear air of a Norwegian morning. After this introduction, the main theme is stated on clarinets and saxophones. A central bridge section takes the listener through several moods until the brass reintroducethe main theme under a woodwind descant. Material from the introduction brings the work to a peaceful close.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£99.99Almshouse Street Blues - Philip Sparke
In 2007, Philip Sparke received the exciting task of composing three new works for the historic Monmouth School, situated on the Welsh/English border, at which he was composer-in-residence. Almshouse Street Blues was conceived ina truly democratic way, with each member of the band choosing the kind of piece they wanted! The result reflects the summer festival that takes place in the town each year, where you can experience anything from folk music to jazzand even bangra. With Almshouse Street Blues, Philip Sparke has written a work that will fit perfectly in any festival program. Dur: 4:45
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£87.99The Bandwagon - Philip Sparke
Band director and radio presenter Yutaka Nishida hails from Tokyo and has long been a friend of composer Philip Sparke. As well as conducting bands and teaching, he also presents a weekly two-hour music program, focusing on both brass and concertbands, on the Japanese national radio station, Digital Radio Musicbird.The program is called The Bandwagon and the radio station commissioned Philip Sparke to write a march which could be used as a theme tune for the program. The result is thisbright and breezy march in simple ABA form.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£168.50The Last Flower of Autumn - Philip Sparke
In this work for male voice choir and concert band, Philip Sparke aptly captures the mood of the poem The Last Flower of Autumn by Edith Sdergran (1892-1923), a Swedish-speaking Finnish poet. This solemn composition with extensive instrumentation echoes the idyllic, romantic mood of the poem, which can be understood as an allegory of human existence with all its hardships and life's inevitable difficulties.Extra Male Voice Choir parts can be ordered through edition number AMP 516-050.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£141.99Pulcinella - Philip Sparke
Pulcinella was commissioned by the Taiwanese euphonium player Tzu-Hsiang Lin. Lin is a renowned soloist and teacher and a Besson Euphonium Artist. He teaches euphonium at Taipei National University of the Arts, National Taiwan University of Arts, Shih Chien University and National Kaohsiung Normal University. Lin gave the premiere of Pulcinella in both its concert band and brass band versions in January 2021. Pulcinella continues Sparke's series of euphonium solos named after characters of the Italian commedia dell'arte and opens with a long and expressive minor melody for the soloist over a brooding accompaniment. This is taken up briefly by the full band and is extended by the soloist after a change of key. A cadenza, accompanied by fragments of the main melody leads to a complete change of mood, tempo and tonality, introducing a Vivo section starting with a perky syncopated tune for the soloist. The band then uses elements of this new tune to introduce a change of key, where the soloist introduces a more lyrical second subject over a pulsing accompaniment. The band then takes this up and changes key to reintroduce the original Vivo melody, which leads to a short and acrobatic coda to bring the work to a spectacular close.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£99.99Salutation - Philip Sparke
Salutation was commissioned by Japanese conductor and broadcaster, Yutaka Nishida, a dear friend of the composer Philip Sparke. Salutation follows fairly conventional march form. A short fanfare introduces the main theme, played by clarinets and saxophones. A bridge passage, mainly in the brass, heralds a change of key and a legato second subject, again played initially by the clarinets, which leads to the conventional trio theme, which is then repeated by the full band. Sections of the second subject lead back to the home key and a return of the main theme, embellished with woodwinds.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£99.99Watch Your Step! - Philip Sparke
Watch Your Step! was commissioned by Stadtmusik Biel from Switzerland and is dedicated to the mayor of Biel/Bienne, Erich Fehr. The title was chosen to represent Biel as the watch-making capital of Switzerland. Watch Your Step! is one part of a series of 'up tempo' Sparke marches such as Slipstream, The Bandwagon and Jubiloso. After a bright opening, a syncopated first theme is played, firstly by clarinets and saxophones, and then by the full band. A 'bass strain' is followed by a contrasting second subject, which is played twice. The bass melody returns to herald a truncated version of the main theme, before the opening fanfarereappears as a coda.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£137.99And Still, the Spirit - Philip Sparke
This work was commissioned by Dr. Robert Oertli from Mhlin, Switzerland, and is based on an earlier composition called Spirit of the Sequoia. The piece is inspired by how the human spirit can gain from setbacks: we become stronger after adversity. Sparke used the Californian redwood tree as a metaphor for this basic idea. The remarkable life cycle of these amazing trees involves them dropping seeds to the ground, which require heat to open their shells and germinate; the seeds require destruction in order to procreate. This piece is particularly suitable for younger bands - one of the last wishes of the initial commissioner.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£110.99With Clouds Descending - Philip Sparke
With Clouds Descending is a fantasy on the powerful Advent hymn Helmsley which is long associated with another Advent hymn - Wesley's Lo! He Comes with Clouds Descending. The hymn tune is divided into an introduction and three complete verses of Helmsley, which surround a slower central section, whose melody is derived from the last line of the hymn tune. Philip Sparke's grade 4 arrangement of this majestic piece for Concert Band is equally suitable as a concert opener or a main concert piece.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£149.99A Nottingham Festival - Philip Sparke
This celebratory work, which Philip Sparke wrote for the 20th anniversary of the Nottingham Concert Band, starts with a hymn-like theme played as a fanfare in the brass. With a change of mood from 'solemn' to 'merry' and back to 'majestic', together with an unusual orchestration, in which may different instruments feature and in which at points the entire wind orchestra shimmers in tutti passages, A Nottingham Festival is a real pleasure for musicians and public alike.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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